Written by: Sania Ahmed Khan
Posted on: December 05, 2018 | 
| 中文
Syed Hassan Zaidi interviewing immigrants for Dunkey Following European Dreams
The Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) was adopted by the United Nations General Assembly, on 10th December, 1948; a historic document that has been translated into more than 360 languages, and serves as a guidebook for the rights of every human being worldwide. On 10th December, 2017 the UN Human Rights Council launched a year-long campaign to mark the Declaration’s 70th anniversary, due in 2018.
In the days leading up to Human Rights Day, 2018, a film festival titled ‘Human Rights through Cinematography’ was organized in Pakistan by United Nations, in collaboration with the Delegation of the European Union, in nine cities including Gujrat, Islamabad, Karachi, Lahore, Multan, Mardan, Peshawar, Quetta, Rawalpindi and Swat. The festival will run from 25th November to 10th December and showcases 27 documentaries on human rights issues from around the world. The films are being screened in auditoriums of cultural centers, cinemas, and educational institutes, with the aim of encouraging reflection and debate on human rights protection.
Goethe-Institut is one of 5 venues in Karachi currently screening the thematic documentaries. On December 2nd, 2018, Goethe-Institut screened three Pakistani films, Zahida, 17 and Sentenced to Die, and Dunkey Following European Dreams. The screening was attended by German language students of the institute, and local film enthusiasts.
Zahida Kazmi is a 56 year old widow, who first made the news in 2011, as Pakistan’s first female taxi driver. She used to wait for passengers at the Benazir Bhutto International Airport, Islamabad and earned herself the reputation of a skilled driver. Widowed at the young age of 33, Zahida knew that she had to take control of her fate, if she was going to look after her 6 children. The film is directed by Seemab Gul, a London based filmmaker, involved in social and anti-war campaigns. The film follows Zahida’s defiance in the face of hopelessness, and an admirable determination to take control of her circumstances. Viewers sit on the passenger seat of Zahida’s taxi, as she drives around the city looking for passengers, while also running personal errands such as haggling with a mechanic for her car’s spare parts, and buying a birthday gift for her 7 year old daughter, Zara. With 5 of her children married off, Zahida is still working long hours as a taxi driver, in the hopes of collecting money for Zara’s medical school tuition fee. With all the safety hazards that exist for working women in Pakistan, what hope does Zahida, an aging, sole breadwinner have of earning a respectable livelihood for herself and her daughter, is a question the film intelligently tackles.
17 and Sentenced to Die follows the story of Iqbal Muhammad, a juvenile offender, who has been on death row for nearly 20 years. The film is directed by Asim Rafiqui and shot true-crime style, to show one of Justice Project Pakistan’s investigators tracking down the main figures in Iqbal’s case, including his brother, his defense lawyer, the primary witnesses, and the victim’s son. Iqbal’s brother reveals in the film that Iqbal was abducted by the police, a few days after an armed robbery in their village. He had been taken to an offsite facility, where he was subjected to all forms of torture. The police had taken a coerced confession and presented witnesses in court, who despite having difficulty in recalling the specifics of the incident, had testified to Iqbal’s involvement in the robbery. The film quotes articles from the Juvenile Justice System Act, to highlight the rights of children involved in criminal litigation, and through the interviews, creates substantial doubt about Iqbal’s guilt, and the problematic policies that allow innocent people to end up behind bars.
Syed Hassan Zaidi’s film captures the story of illegal Pakistani immigrants who have attempted “Dunkey – slang for illegal migration” and settled at the Serbia-Hungary border. Around 70,000 illegal Pakistani immigrants try to enter Europe every year. 25% lose their lives or suffer violent conditions. The filmmaker arrives in the campsites of these immigrants to talk about their motivation, struggles, living conditions and future plans. Hassan Zaidi creates a cinematic experience for viewers, by presenting his journey in a vlog style. He is seen packing his camera equipment at home, checking in at the immigration desk at the airport, and marking his footsteps in a trail on Google maps, to show where his travel took him. The immigrants in question are hiding in train lines in Subotica, Serbia, and consist of both youngsters and veterans, who have attempted dunkey more than 15 times. They have been chased off by dogs, suffered in underground jails, and even got electric shocks, in their many attempts to cross the border. Due to inadequate ID requirements, these people have remained unsuccessful in making a living for themselves, and most agree that they have faced more humiliation than success in their pursuit of the European Dream.
All three films screened at Goethe-Institut were shot by Pakistani filmmakers and had characters who conversed in Urdu, though English subtitles had been added. It was exciting to witness works produced by our talented directors, and not only was the subject matter of great importance, the style of documenting it was also distinct. Each film was a fitting tribute to the resilience of everyday human beings, and a reminder of the grave human rights violations which must be addressed. By challenging the viewers to think, these short films left an impact on everyone who attended the screening.
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